Which Manchester based store is best?

r44b

r44b

r44b

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21 Dec 2006
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Im thinking of spending muchos $$$ on a mac very soon, be moving from a 1.8ghz athlon 64 / 2GB ram / x850 xt pe.

Current rig is pretty old and struggles with pretty much everything i throw at it. Im probably looking at a Mac Pro and maybe MBP, however before i buy i intend to go and spend a decent amount of time in an apple store with a personal shopper assisting me:eek:.
Problem is the closest store's to me are in Manchester (2.5 hours away) The question is do i go to the Trafford centre or the Arndale centre. Is there a difference between the two except location?
Trafford centre is on the outskirts so saves me having to get into the city centre. However if the Arndale one is significantly better for whatever reason ill make the extra effort.

Also if i decided to buy on the spot do they offer student discounts instore and if so what kind of Id do they ask for if any?

Hope you can help :)
 
no experience of manchester, but I'm pretty sure Apple's prices are the same across the board, whether in-store or online.

If you are a university student then you can get 14% off a mac laptop or desktop. You can either log in to the Higher Education store on the apple website from your uni (or use VPN to simulate it) or get the discount in store as long as you can prove you are a student. I don't think they will do any special 'deals' though, they're not allowed.

edit, as for ID.. I would assume a photo ID from your uni will work, or maybe a student loans form or summat.. not totally sure as I bought my MB online
 
Trafford centre is the one to go for imo. It's got free parking, is easy to find and doesn't seem to get too busy.
The Arndale centre shop is not free parking and tends to get a lot busier due to it being city centre.
 
I'd suggest the Trafford centre, but I'm not sure how busy that gets. The one in the Arndale is nearly always busy.

There is a small Apple shop located on the ground floor of the Piccadilly One building near the tram stop which is quiet and there's usually about 2-3 staff in there available to help.
 
A Mac Pro & a MacBook Pro?

You'd be better off with a regular MacBook consider the horsepower you'd have available in the home with a Mac Pro.

I just think a MBP would be OTT unless your away from the house a lot.. in which case, do you need a Mac Pro? :)
 
Thanks for all the replies so far, :)

I already have a massive list of questions to ask about everything. Im going to be using it for just about anything you can think of. Digital photography, digital painting, 3d moddeling in maya/Zbrush, web design, some video and sound editing.

EVH, I was considering a MB over the MBP to begin with as I would be simply using it for a bit of web browsing, MS word and web design/coding on the go to start with. Im still not 100% sure on this aspect as I can see myself needing more power in the future while on the move.
I dont think I'll be able to make my mind up for sure on this choice before I see them next to each other in store.
 
theheyes said:
I'd suggest the Trafford centre, but I'm not sure how busy that gets. The one in the Arndale is nearly always busy.

There is a small Apple shop located on the ground floor of the Piccadilly One building near the tram stop which is quiet and there's usually about 2-3 staff in there available to help.
Click to expand...

not a proper apple shop though, just a shop that sells some apple stuff
 
Justin said:
Better off going to a proper store, will have all their up to date gear.
Click to expand...

Yup - the trafford centre one is in a fantastic location - but its normally full of kids using the iSight!

Best to go as late in the evening as possible - thats when the staff can be most attentive... worked for me and I went about 10 times before I finally bought it!

Tom*
 
@ r44b

You'll want a MacBook Pro if you place them side-by-side, but you have to ask yourself "do I NEED it all the time".

If I wanted power I'd get a MacBook Pro, there's no disputing, but equally if I had a Mac Pro at home I know that the MBP wouldn't really be needed and I'd use the extra cash to get dual displays :)

Just something to think about mate.
 
MacBook + Mac Pro

Or just a 2.6 MacBook Pro.

Although 3D editing I'd get the Mac Pro would be a far better bet, but a 4Gb 2.6 MBP wouldn't be that bad either.
 
EVH said:
@ r44b

You'll want a MacBook Pro if you place them side-by-side, but you have to ask yourself "do I NEED it all the time".

If I wanted power I'd get a MacBook Pro, there's no disputing, but equally if I had a Mac Pro at home I know that the MBP wouldn't really be needed and I'd use the extra cash to get dual displays :)

Just something to think about mate.
Click to expand...

Good point. Ive spent the last 2 months going back and forth trying to balance how im going to spend the money I have saved. Im basically upgrading all of my creative "assets" such as camera lenses etc. I also intend to invest in a HD video camera shortly aswell and the money I save buying a MacBook over MBP would go quite a way towards paying for it.

Im definiatly going to the Trafford centre but probably will probably be setting off early morning to get there at about 10-11am. This will be on a saturday so I hope i dont get attacked by hordes of geek children :eek: At least i'll have my personal shopper to bash them away :D
 
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